


excuses

by plastic--hearts (paperxvalentines)



Series: ferris wheels [2]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Carnival, Ferris Wheels, M/M, bin is still a wuss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 09:46:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,746
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11666625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperxvalentines/pseuds/plastic--hearts
Summary: Bin invites Dongmin to a carnival in a half-hearted attempt to prove he's not scared of ferris wheels.





	excuses

**Author's Note:**

> Here's the second part to 'enjoy the ride'! The ending is a little rushed but I hope it's okay! :-)

Dongmin didn’t really expect much to come out of giving Bin his number. They texted constantly for about a week after they met, maybe two, but then college started and they were both whisked away by day-to-day life, limiting their texting to free moments and the weekends.  


So, needless to say, Dongmin was _very_ surprised when his phone started buzzing on his desk one night, nearly 3 months after they met, with Bin’s name flashing on the screen. He immediately picked up the call, pressing his phone to his ear. 

“Hello?”  


“Hi Dongmin!” Bin exclaimed, a little too excitedly for the time of night. “Are you busy?”  


“Well, I was studying,” Dongmin replied, leaning back slightly in his white desk chair. “But I guess I can take a break for a couple of minutes.”  


“Great! So, there’s a carnival taking place near my campus, and it’s nothing fancy but today I saw them setting up a ferris wheel, so I was wondering whether you’d like to come with me.”  


Dongmin’s eyes widened, and he stuttered out a, “Yeah, I-I’d like that.”  


If Bin had noticed Dongmin’s stuttering, he didn’t say anything about it. Instead, he said, “Okay, great! I was kinda hoping you’d say yes, actually. I want to prove to you that I’m not a wuss.”  


“We’ll see about that,” Dongmin laughed, a hint of fondness evident in his voice.  


“I swear!” Bin argued. “Anyways, I’ll text you the directions later on. What day works for you? I think the fair starts this Saturday, and it goes on for a week.”  


“Um…” Dongmin leaned forward, reaching for his planner. He tucked his phone against his cheek with his shoulder, and began flipping through the pages to find Saturday, only four days away. “Well, Saturday I can’t, because Jinjin has a dance performance, or something like that, I’m not sure of the proper term. But, uh… Sunday works. Or Tuesday. Possibly Wednesday, I’m not sure yet.”  


“Jeez, you sure are busy,” Bin teased. “Anyways, let’s do Sunday, yeah? Better to get this done sooner rather than later.”  


“You’re scared.”  


“Am not!”  


Dongmin laughed again, taking his phone back into his hand as he put the planner down. “Okay, well, we’ll see on Sunday.”  


They chatted for a while longer before Dongmin decided it was time for him to go back to his studying. They bid each other goodnight, and Dongmin couldn’t help the little flutter of his heart when he hung up and thought about the plans they had just made.  


\--------  


The bus ride was long, but Dongmin barely felt the time pass. He was too preoccupied with making sure that his hair looked alright, that his sweater was falling properly on his slender frame, that his face wouldn’t be _too_ red at the sight of the other boy.  


But of course, he couldn’t control that.  


When he got off the bus, his first thought was to pull out his phone and let Bin know he had reached, but a tap on his shoulder stopped him midway. He lifted his head to see none other than Bin, smiling widely at him.  


“Bin!” Dongmin exclaimed, a little louder than he intended to, but the other didn’t seem to mind.  


Instead, he pulled him in for a quick hug, before saying, “I’m glad to see you made it in one piece.”  


Dongmin chuckled, trying to control his heart, which was clearly threatening to jump out of his chest and into Bin’s arms. “Yeah, well, that makes two of us.”  


“Alright, so I figured that we should probably eat something before we head there,” Bin said as the two of them began walking down the sidewalk. “I mean, I’ll probably eat something while we’re there as well, but carnival food isn’t really filling. I’m definitely going to need more than just that.”  


Dongmin shrugged. “Okay, we can do that. You’re paying, right?” he teased.  


Bin looked at him in mock surprise. “Wow! I mean, I was _planning_ to, but now I’m not so sure if I should!”  


“Then maybe I should just go back home,” Dongmin joked, turning around as though he was actually going to leave, but a hand gripping his arm stopped him.  


“No, no, it’s fine,” Bin sighed dramatically, clearly acting. “I’ll sacrifice my wallet and pay for your food.”  


Dongmin smiled cheekily, fighting the rising blush at the feeling of Bin’s hand on him. Instead, he decided to focus on the sidewalk in front of him, and Bin’s constant babbling about life, friends, and his dance classes.  


As they walked to a ramen place Bin claimed was “the best within a 3 kilometer radius,” he snuck glances at the boy. Today, he was wearing a black hoodie with some sort of white picture on the front - Dongmin couldn’t figure out what it was due to the angle - and dark jeans. His hair was brushed to the side, the same as it had been when they first met. _If he looks this good in such a casual outfit, how would he look dressed up?_ Dongmin thought, before forcing the thought away. They had been together for less than 10 minutes, he couldn’t let his mind wander just yet.  


\----  


“Well, here we are again,” Bin sighed as they stood behind the gates of the ferris wheel, waiting for the attendant to open it and let them sit on the ride. “I can’t believe I actually volunteered for this.”  


“Would you have been content letting me live out my whole life believing that you’re a wuss?” Dongmin asked, knowing that would get a more excited reaction out of Bin.  


“No,” he huffed, crossing his arms on his chest. “I’m _not_ a wuss.”  


Dongmin just smiled fondly at the other boy.  


A moment later, they were in the seat, sitting beside one another this time. Their thighs were squished against one another’s, but Bin didn’t seem to mind. Dongmin knew he definitely didn’t mind.  


“Oh god,” Dongmin heard Bin mutter under his breath as the ride started moving slowly. “This is the worst part. Having to wait here, suspended in mid air…”  


“Come on, Bin, we’re barely off the ground! Wait until we’re at the top to freak out, at least.”  


Bin shot Dongmin a glare that was supposed to be intimidating, but Dongmin could see the fear behind those brown eyes.  


“Dongmin,” Bin hissed as the capsule lurched forward, taking them up higher. “How can you love these things?”  


Dongmin shrugged, looking out into the horizon. The view wasn’t quite as nice this time around, but the carnival grounds were nice to look at. The tents were bright, adding a colourful pop to the grey and brown buildings surrounding them. “I like the view.”  


“That’s it?” Bin snorted, but before he could make another smartass comment, the wheel turned again, this time suspending them at the very top. He squeaked, a sound Dongmin would never have believed came from Bin, and hid his face against Dongmin’s shoulder. “Oh god, tell me when it’s over.”  


“I think you’ll feel it,” Dongmin murmured, not daring to look down at Bin. He knew the sight would be too cute for him to bear.  


The ride turned slowly, bringing them back to the bottom, before it started gaining speed. At that point, Bin grabbed Dongmin’s hand and wove their fingers together, squeezing tightly as the other laughed. He ran his thumb along the back of Bin’s hand, watching the scenery as Bin muttered about how he wanted this all to end.  


However, Dongmin’s mind was racing, spinning faster than the ride. Peeling his eyes away from the landscape, he looked at Bin, still tucked into his shoulder, and felt his heart flip before hastily diverting his gaze. He just needed to focus on the wind in his hair and the little people below for a little while longer. He could do that.  


After a few minutes of Bin screaming out loud and Dongmin screaming internally, they were let off the ride. Dongmin watched Bin scramble out of the seat and dash out the gate before he could even stand up, and wait for him a good distance away.  


“That thing-” Bin huffed, hands coming up to adjust his hair once Dongmin had joined him. “That thing is death on a wheel.”  


Dongmin rolled his eyes fondly. “Okay, sure.”  


“At least it gave me an excuse to hold your hand,” Bin commented, laughing when Dongmin’s smile turned into surprise. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re _that_ easily flustered.”  


“I’m- I’m _not_ ,” he tried to defend himself, but to no avail. So instead, he took a breath and took Bin’s hand into his own once more. “Did you really need a ferris wheel to be able to hold my hand? Wow, you must be an even bigger scaredy-cat than I thought.”  


Bin smacked him on the chest with his free hand, and Dongmin half-expected him to pull away, but instead, he intertwined their fingers just as he had done on the ride. 

“You better stop saying that.”  


“Hmm?” The two of them started to walk aimlessly amongst the games and rides. “Why?”  


“Because the best way I can think of to shut you up is to get you on an even scarier ride, like a roller coaster or something,” Bin shrugged, before glancing over at Dongmin. “Or maybe I’ll have to kiss you.”  


Dongmin’s eyes widened and cheeks reddened as Bin laughed, continuing to talk. “But I’d rather not, because I have a better plan for how I want that to happen. So don’t make me ruin my plans.”  


Dongmin stood in place and just blinked at Bin. _Say something, you idiot!_ he thought, the logical part of his brain coming up with sentence after sentence, but his mouth was refusing to cooperate. _Tell him how much you want to kiss him. Call him a scaredy-cat again and see how he reacts. Brush him off! Don’t let him see how affected you are!_  


But of course his mouth picked, “Oh, uh, is that so?” to say. His brain hated him.  


Thankfully, Bin just laughed, and tugged at their interlocked hands to get him to start walking again. “Come on, dork. Let’s go win you some stuffed animals.”

 

When Dongmin got on the bus home that evening, arms filled with random prizes and cheek tingling due to Bin’s lips, he couldn’t stop smiling. Needless to say, Jinwoo and Sanha never heard the end of it.

**Author's Note:**

> As I'm incapable of writing oneshots, I might make a third part to this...


End file.
